Tag: city of ghosts

Recently, I went to see Mary Poppins Returns in the cinema and I absolutely loved every single second of it. But among all the familiarity, the contrast of colours and the pure magic weaved into its story, one song in particular stuck out to me.

The song is called “A Cover Is Not The Book” and tackles the topic of how really you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover because then you’ll be surprised and find that your preconceptions were actually quite wrong. It got me thinking about some books I’ve come across where I wasn’t that enamored with the cover but, whether through knowledge of the author or hearing many good things, I decided to continue on and see what happens.

So here’s a list, in no particular order, of books where I hated the covers, but really loved the story:

The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald

Did you really think this would be the year where I didn’t mention The Great Gatsby at any given opportunity? One of my favourite books of all time but has a truly appalling original cover. Of course, like with many classics, there are many different editions out there but I chose to stick with the original as this was the cover of the copy I read. It was purely because of the 2013 adaption that I picked this book up so that I could experience the story for myself. Little did I know that the glitz and glamour of 1920’s parties, luscious prose and complex, intoxicating characters would have me coming back for many a reread.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I promise that this list isn’t going to include all my favourite books! Another book that I picked up because of an upcoming film adaptation, City of Bones was a game changer for me. After devouring this book and its subsequent partners, I took a shift in my reading life to YA fantasy and also realised it was the kind of stuff that I wanted to write more of. A tale packed full of half angel- half human individuals battling demons in a world of warlocks, vampires and werewolves. There sure is something for everyone.

A Very Large Expanse Of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

A Very Large Expanse of Sea made it onto my list of favourite books for last year. It follows a Muslim teenager called Shirin as she tackles school and wider society a year on from the events of 9/11. She is an incredible well-rounded character with so many layers to her than what those see around her, and I actually really liked the romance in it. The cover itself, however, I just found a bit bland. I get the effect of showing the reflection in water but I feel that it’s just too simplistic.

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Victoria Schwab is an auto-buy author for me so most of the time I pick up her books not really knowing that much about them. City of Ghosts is a prime example of the US cover being infinitely better than the UK cover. I just really don’t like the way the red and black blend together and it makes it actually hurt my eyes to look at. The story, however, is fantastic. It’s about a girl who can see ghosts and sometimes step into the veil to the other side. It will appeal greatly to fans of Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Again, another one where I feel that the cover is a bit too simple. But the story is outstanding, and turned into an equally amazing film adaptation. It’s about a boy called August with a facial disfigurement who starts his first year in public school after being home schooled. It’s multiple perspective which works really well to see into the minds of other characters and how they view August. It’s a tearjerker, so make sure you have tissues handy.

So that’s my list! What are some books that you loved but didn’t like the cover?

“I have one foot in winter and one in spring. One foot with the living, and one with the dead.”

Blurb: “Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspectres, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.”

Schwab continues to build her incredible writing career by not putting too many eggs in one basket: From Adult Fantasy to Young Adult Supernatural and now Children’s Fiction, it really does seem like she can turn her hand to anything. City of Ghosts has the author’s usual flare and incredibly world-building that makes so many readers pick up her new books, no matter what they are, and with a large portion of the story being set in Edinburgh, where Schwab partly resides, it feels very familiar.

Sadly, there’s been a fair amount of criticism that the book is too “simple.” While the storyline is very focused and streamlined, it’s important to remember that the target audience is children. But, as you will have gathered from my blog, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them.

The protagonist, Cassidy, can see ghosts and has been able to ever since she was rescued from death by her ghost friend Jacob. She is also able to temporarily enter the Veil (the ghost world) if she finds herself in the place where somebody died. But even in her own world she feels the tap-tap-tap of someone on the veil the same way other may experience a chill when walking through a known haunted place. The world building is just incredible. It’s easy to distinguish when she in the respective world and the building pressure not to stay in the veil for too long.

I found it really interesting to have a duo at the forefront of a story where one of them is a ghost and it sets up interesting questions for the sequel. Jacob is connected to both worlds and to Cassidy which of course makes them best friends, and he accompanies her on every adventure delivering the typical wit you’d expect from a sidekick. The big, almost joke throughout the story is that Cassidy’s parents can’t see ghosts, don’t believe in them but also make money from writing books about them; which extends to a TV show and becomes the reason they temporarily move to Scotland. Whereas Cassidy can see and interact with ghosts but doesn’t want to write about them and, because of her age, when she accidently addresses Jacob when others are around, it’s simply put down to her “talking to an imaginary friend.”

Of course, every good story needs a villain. Enter the Raven In Red (who I won’t delve too much into because spoilers). She is quite simply terrifying and gave me heavy Coraline vibes. She helped build to an epic and equally terrifying conclusion and, as regular readers know all too well, Schwab makes the best villains.

There’s a few culture references made to things like Peter Pan and Harry Potter which were nice to see and made the story feel more centred in our world. I did have a few issues reading as my copy had a few formatting issues so I’m not sure if it’s a batch problem or just issues with my copy, but it did take me out of the book a few times.

Ghosts galore, incredible world building, City of Ghosts is a fantastic addition to the children’s fiction shelves.